


The Art Room

by presumablynot



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe- No Supernatural, Friends to Lovers, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-14
Updated: 2014-07-14
Packaged: 2018-02-08 21:09:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1956240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/presumablynot/pseuds/presumablynot
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Senior year everything changes. Dealing with past relationships and new feelings all while figuring out what will happen once they graduate, Scott and Stiles have to figure it out as they go along.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Art Room

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the [Sciles Reversebang](http://scilesreversebang.tumblr.com/)
> 
> Inspired by art by [kissingcullens](http://kissingcullens.tumblr.com/)
> 
> Beta Read by the wonderful [Kendra](http://deansbigblackeyes.tumblr.com/)

Scott clutched the landline from his edge of the kitchen chair because his cell phone had been damaged in an unfortunate incident involving a lake. Stiles was pacing around his bedroom with his phone face down on speakerphone mode next to his open laptop.

“Just hit send already, Stiles!”

“Okay, okay, I- I hit send,” he lied.

Scott knew that Stiles didn’t actually hit send yet. Even from the other side of the phone, he knew exactly what Stiles was thinking, and what he _wasn’t_ doing.

“Come on, man. What’s the worst that could happen?” Scott pleaded.

“Rejection,” Stiles snapped.  “Failure. A life doomed to ridicule because of my inferior art skills. What if there’s a typo in the essay? I should really check it over again.”

“Dude, you’ve proof read your entire application a thousand times. I’ve proof read it _for_ you another thousand. You’re set. Besides, your essay is barely even important to art schools. It’s the portfolio that counts.”

“Really?” Stiles sounded excited for a brief moment. “Well that’s great because my portfolio is shit.”

“You’re the best artist I know,” Scott said.

“You must not know a lot of artists.”

“Just hit the damn button or I’m coming over and doing it for you.” They both knew it wasn’t true. Scott’s mom was busy with the car and Scott was still saving up for his own bike. The only way he could get there was to walk the six miles. His asthma combined with the colder-than-usual October air made that less than ideal.

“I’ll submit it tomorrow,” Stiles said. “You know I still have a week before the early action deadline.”

Scott sighed. “Fine. But, you have to promise me you’ll really do it. Your chances go way down if you wait till regular decision.”

“I will. I really want this. I just... nervous, that’s all.”

The next day in school Stiles was antsy. He went all morning without mentioning applications, but broke when they sat down for lunch. “How are you okay with all this, Scott? You’re applying to tough colleges too.”

“UCLA is definitely a reach, but I guess I accepted that whatever happens happens, and I’d be happy at UC Sunnydale anyway. It’s close enough to commute and I’m pretty sure they’ll accept me, hopefully even give me a scholarship.”

Allison and Lydia were walking past with their food, but Allison changed their course when she noticed Scott and Stiles sitting at a table with so many empty chairs.

“What, are you into Scott or something?” Lydia asked with some disdain as the two sat down at the table.

Allison laughed. “No. That’d be like you being into Stiles.”

“But Stiles is gay,” Lydia replied.

“Exactly my point.”

Scott interjected “But I’m _not_ gay.” The girls looked away from each other and faced Scott.

“That may be true, but you’re _so_ not interested in me. Which is what I was about to say if you hadn’t interrupted me,” Allison said. Then she turned to Lydia to explain. “He and I made out last summer and it was mutually determined to be the grossest thing ever.”

“People do crazy things when they’re bored” Lydia muttered.

Stiles faked a cough loudly to defend Scott’s honor. “We were just talking about college. Where are you two applying?” he said, changing the subject.

“I’m going to Harvard.” Lydia said assertively.

“Not MIT?” Scott asked. “I thought you said you wanted to be an engineer, and that’s the best place for engineering.”

“I changed my mind. Not about engineering, but about MIT. I need my education more well rounded.”

“What about you, Allison?” Stiles asked.

“I’m not telling people where I’m applying. You know, to avoid the embarrassment if they all reject me,” she said with a smirk. “I’ll tell you this much: somewhere I can major in history.”

“But that’s everywhere!” said Scott. Allison just raised her eyebrows in response. She wasn’t bending on this. She hardly bent on anything once she set her mind to it.

“How about you, Stiles?” Allison asked. “Where are you applying?”

“A few art schools plus UC Sunnydale as a backup.”

“Can I see?” Lydia asked, gesturing to his sketchbook, which was sitting right near him like it always was.

“Uh, yeah. Sure.” Stiles said. He passed the book over to Lydia, who then started flipping through it silently. Allison looked at it over Lydia’s shoulder.

There were some nature sketches, more sketches of objects he found lying around, and every six or eight pages there was a drawing of Scott. When asked why he drew Scott so much, the answer was obvious. “It’s convenient. He’s always around.”

Their chatter lasted through the lunch period. Lydia hesitantly enjoyed it. When the lunch period was over, she even walked with Stiles to her next class, the only class the two of them had together: AP studio art.

She only agreed to take that class because the other electives either didn’t fit her schedule or weren’t advanced enough for her. She wasn’t actually all that interested in art. That’s how she ended up in Stiles’ class, seated in the most secluded are of the room in order to minimize the interaction with her classmates.

They didn’t talk as they walked to class. When they reached the door to the studio, Stiles waved awkwardly at Lydia before turning to go to his usual seat, right next to Kira. Lydia smiled in response before walking to her own corner.

“What was that about?” Kira asked curiously as Stiles plopped onto the stool beside her. She glanced over at Lydia, who was busy arranging her colored pencils.

“Oh, nothing. She and Allison ate lunch with me and Scott. It would have been weirder for us _not_ to walk to class together.”

Kira was still staring at the pretty redhead in the corner. “Oh,” she said. Then Lydia looked up and Kira suddenly turned away, blushing. “Well she seems cool. Maybe I could sit with you too tomorrow?

“Yeah, sure you’re welcome at our table. I don’t know if they’ll sit with us again though. Today seemed like kind of a fluke. I fully expected them to sit at their usual table with Jackson, Danny, and the rest of those guys.”

“Alright, class. Let’s get started on the new assignment. You’ll each be doing a still life for your portfolios, but I have a twist to make it more interesting,” Mrs. Morrell gestured at the table in the center of the room with a setup of flowers in a vase, a basket with fruit, and some draped fabrics. “Each person will be working in a different medium so we can compare and discuss the results. Does anyone have a medium in mind already?”

Lydia’s hand shot up first. “Colored pencil.”

“Great. Anyone else?” Mrs. Morrell asked. “Your choices are anything but colored pencil.”

One by one, each of the fourteen students picked or got stuck with a medium. Stiles got watercolor, and Kira charcoal. Other people got acrylic paint, oil pastels, paper collage, relief sculpture in clay, and so on. One kid even chose crayons because options were running low and it seemed like a fun challenge.

The great thing about art class is that there’s no real reason to stay quiet most of the time, so the art studio is always abuzz with comments on art, and more often, gossip and chatting. Today was no different. Kira quietly admitted to Stiles that she had a crush on Lydia, and Stiles offered suggestions on getting to know Lydia better and eventually asking her out.

“Sorry, I’m making this conversation all about me,” she said about two thirds of the way through the class period. “How about you and your love life?” She nudged him playfully.  Then she looked away from her own canvas for the first time in a few minutes. “Whoa that flower looks really cool.”

“Thanks, and uh, no. Right now my love life pretty much null. Danny and I had a fling over the summer, but ever since school started, he’s back to hanging with Jackson Jerkmore and acting like I don’t exist.”

“They’re dating?” Kira asked.

“No, at least I don’t think so. I’m pretty sure Jackson’s straight.” Stiles said.

“And on that note, you’re sure Lydia likes girls?” Kira asked nervously. “I haven’t exactly been in this school for the longest time, and I’ve only heard a rumor that she’s bisexual.”

“Is anyone ever _really_ sure about bisexuals?” Stiles said. “I mean I’ve heard her say she’s bi, but she could be saying that for attention.”

At that moment, Lydia happened to be walking over towards the garbage can and overheard what he said. “Excuse me?” she all but shouted. “You think I need to lie about my sexuality to get attention from losers like you? I’m already more popular than you ever will be, Stilinski.”

Kira’s eyes were wide. “Sorry, he didn’t- I mean, just ignore that, Lydia. He’s usually an awesome guy.

Stiles didn’t bother defending himself because they were right. He was kind of a jerk unintentionally sometimes, even if it hurt to hear Kira say it. The rest of the period, they only talked about the art they were working on.

On November 14th, the night before the application was due, Scott came over to Stiles’ house. He still hadn’t submitted it. This time, there was some yelling involved. It was yelling of love, but of course it only made Stiles complain more.

The yelling was ultimately a good thing. When midnight passed and he had successfully submitted his application, he hugged the shit out of Scott.

“Thanks, man,” Stiles said before he fell backwards onto his bed in relief. Then after a moment, he asked, “You’re sleeping over, right?”

“Yeah.” Scott nodded.

“Well my dad’s been on my case about having sleepovers with guys ever since I came out. I think you’re some kind of magical exception though. He loves you and I’m pretty sure he’d never make you leave, but it’s best to keep a low profile anyway.”

“Sure, I’ll just- I dunno sneak around when I have to go to the bathroom. Sound good?” Scott suggested and smiled.

“Great.” Stiles said. “You know, it seems kind of weird for him to be uptight even about straight guys.” Scott let out a breath and looked away for a moment. Stiles caught it and rushed to add “I mean not you since we’ve been best friends since for so long, but like I said- just extra precautions.”

“No, I get that. I’m just not sure I want to be so quick to label myself as straight. That’s kind of heteronormative, right?”

“Oh look who’s lecturing the gay guy on heteronormativity.” Stiles said, chuckling.

“But listen to me, Stiles. Lydia’s bi; what if I am too?” Scott shrugged

“I guess it’s possible. I mean- is there a guy you like that I should know about?”

“No,” Scott said too quickly. “It’s just something I’ve been thinking about.”

Stiles’ phone buzzed across the room. “Hey, Scotty can you pass me my phone? And you know I love you know matter what, even if you’re straight,” he added jokingly

Scott silently reached over and tossed it to Stiles.

Stiles clicked a reply to whoever just texted him. “Sorry, it’s Kira. Speaking of Lydia and her bisexuality, Kira’s planning on asking her out. I’ve been coaching her through it.”

“Exciting stuff,” Scott said.

*******

The next day, Allison and Lydia were waiting on line to buy their lunches, and Kira strode over with her bag from home. “What’s up?” Kira said gleefully. It was technically aimed at both of them, but Lydia was the one who smiled and answered.

“Not much. We just came from a hard history test and honestly I’m glad that’s over.”

“Cool, well I’m sure you did well anyway. I mean, you always do.” Kira said, blushing slightly and looking down. She looked back up just a moment later and asked “Are you sitting with us today?”

“Course I am. I have every day for the last two weeks, so why would today be any different?” Lydia had been responsive to Kira’s flirting. So responsive, in fact, that she swallowed her pride and sat at the same table as Scott and Stiles a few times because Kira was sitting there, only to find that she actually liked them.

“Great.” She asserted. “And, uh, I was just making sure.”

Allison and Lydia paid for their food while Kira stood nearby, and then they went together to walk over to the tables. Scott and Stiles were already at their usual seats. Allison was in the middle of rambling something about Roosevelt when the three girls sat down at the table with them.

“Hey Kira!” Stiles said. “And Lydia and Allison of course.” He nodded towards each of them. “So, any progress?”

“On?” Kira asked.

Stiles raised an eyebrow in response, which sent Kira into a blushing fit because- Lydia. The eyebrow meant Lydia.

“What’s he talking about?” Allison asked, intrigued. “Does Kira have a _crush_?”

“As a matter of fact, she does.” Stiles declared. And Kira promptly punched him.

The five of them went along joking and teasing. Then the conversation devolved into fake flirting, mixed with real flirting and real flirting disguised as fake flirting. Kira couldn’t stop smiling the whole time, sitting next to Lydia.

When the lunch period was running close to the end, she glanced at the clock and said “Okay, fuck it. I’m asking you out Lydia. You probably realized my crush was on you anyway so now it’s pathetic if I don’t do anything. Would you be interested in going ice-skating with me this Saturday? It finally got cold enough that they’re opening up for the season. It could be, like, a date?” She was relatively calm when she started talking, but by the end of her rambles she was back to being scared she misjudged. That is, until Lydia, who had been looking her right in the eyes the entire time, broke out into a huge smile.

“Of course, Kira. Yes.” Lydia said, right before leaning in to kiss Kira’s cheek. She was just inches away from her ear, and she whispered, “I can’t wait until Saturday.”

Meanwhile, Scott’s face melted into a puddle of happiness watching this unfold, and he was dangerously close to saying “awww” out loud. Stiles was proud of himself, if a little bit smug. Allison was beaming at her two closest friends, falling in love right before her eyes.

The scene was perfect. Maybe too perfect because Jackson had to pass by the table right then and ruin it. “Hey faggots.” He said, looking at Scott and Stiles by the end of the table.

“Dude. That’s not okay. That word is seriously offensive.” Scott shot back, clearly pissed off. Jackson was just going to continue walking but instead halted to a stop.

“Chill out. It’s okay because my best friend is gay. I was just insulting you and your freak friend, not gay people in general.” Jackson crossed his arms.

“Think what you want, but that’s not the way it works, and I’m sure Danny would agree.” Stiles said.

Jackson laughed. “Yeah, like Danny would agree with anything you say. Why do you think he left you and came back to me, Stilinski?”

Stiles’ mouth went dry. The sound around him went dull and he could only hear his own racing thoughts. “Fuck off,” he managed to say, with not nearly enough conviction. He knew Jackson was sort of right and it hurt like hell. Jackson just sauntered off, ego intact.

Lydia was the first one to speak up. “I can’t believe I dated that jerk.”

Kira’s eyes went wide and she asked. “You and him?” As a transfer student, she still wasn’t completely up to date on the current gossip, let alone the past gossip.

“Yeah, sophomore year. It ended with a full-on freak out, and so I finally broke it off with him.” Lydia said.

The bell rang and the people at the table scattered.

*******

It was December. Lydia and Kira’s relationship was getting budding, interrupted only by one or two rude comments by Jackson about how hot lesbians are. Mostly he was just trying to piss Lydia off. But everyone’s attention was more focused on college applications, due in a month or less, depending on the school. Stiles was scrambling to finish his essays and financial aid forms because he still didn’t hear back from the art school and he was sure he’d be rejected. He needed backups.

On the day decisions were due to be released, he kept the webpage open on his cell phone and refreshed. He’d find out that way before waiting for the actual physical letter to come in the mail days later. Of course, he was in class so he wasn’t _supposed to_ be on his phone, which Coach Finstock had no problem pointing out.

Stiles said “But they said we would find out midday and they’re talking about eastern standard time at noon, so that means I have to be ready to find out at exactly eight AM.”

“That was ten minutes ago. Class also started ten minutes ago, so pay attention or get the hell out of my classroom.”

“I just… need to refresh one more time” He pressed the button and watched impatiently as the college’s website reloaded. This time, there was a link that said _View Decision Now_ and Stiles squealed “I have to see it. I have to know if I got in.”

“Get out!” Coach Finstock yelled, and Stiles scurried to the door. He was about to press on the new link to find out, but had a better idea instead.

Stiles ran down the hall to room 109. He knocked twice and opened the door without waiting for an actual response. “Excuse me, I need Scott Mccall to leave your class for a few minutes. His mom is waiting for him in the office,” He said to the teacher.

Scott stood up, nervous. The teacher just nodded and he left the room with Stiles.

“What happened? Why’s she here?” Scott asked anxiously.

“Nothing happened, Scott. Did you really believe that? Maybe I’m a better actor than I thought. Huh. Maybe I should go into acting if I get rejected from art school.” Stiles grinned.

“I don’t understand.” He tilted his head in confusion.

Stiles held up his phone. _View Decision Now._ “I didn’t want to be alone when I found out.”

Scott laughed an awkward chuckle of relief. Leave it to Stiles to imply a family emergency in order to get him to hang out and ditch class.

Stiles grabbed Scott’s hand and dragged him away as he started trotting down the hall. “Come on, we’re going to the art room. It’s always empty first period.”

Scott just rolled his eyes and followed.

Stiles pushed open the door and went straight for the first chair in sight. He sat down, shut his eyes tight, and held out the hand that was still holding his phone.” What’s it say?”

Scott took the phone and sat down. “One sec, it’s loading.”

“Come on come on,” Stiles said impatiently.

“Okay, here it is! _Dear_ … Wow it’s weird seeing your name written out like that. I’m still not sure I can pronounce it but I’ll try-”

“Oh shut it and get to the important part.”

“Fine. _We are pleased to inform you that-“_

“Are you fucking kidding me?!” Stiles shouted as he opened his eyes and inhaled sharply.

“Congrats, man! Don’t you want me to read the rest?”

“No, no,” Stiles shook his head as he took back his phone and skimmed through the rest. “welcoming you into the class of 2017… housing forms… blah blah blah I’ll read the rest later. _Now_ is the time to celebrate.”

Scott smiled. “Okay, sure. Celebrate how?” he asked, knowing full well based on the look on his face that Stiles had an answer waiting on the tip of his tongue.

Stiles sprung from his seat and said “I’m in the mood to paint! After all it seems fitting since we’re celebrating my getting into an art school that I should be doing art- the thing that got me here in the first place. You can be my muse.” Before he even finished talking, he was rushing over to the drawer where the paints were kept. He grabbed some of his brushes and a piece of paper, and set up to start painting.

Scott stood idly by waiting for further instructions. When none came, he coughed and asked, “So, uh... Your muse. What should I be doing? Normally when you draw me you don’t warn me in advance so I don’t… Should I like model for you? ”

“Yep,” Stiles said, still rearranging his supplies. “How about I draw you like one of my French girls.”

Scott stared blankly. Stiles looked up. “Seriously? Titanic?”

“Never seen it.”

“Then we’re watching it this weekend. I can’t believe you’ve never seen _Titanic_. First Star Wars and now this?!” Stiles exclaimed.

Scott just shrugged. “So how do I do the French thing?” He was genuinely asking, and even though he was nervous about the answer, he was pretty sure he’d do whatever was asked of him anyway.

“You’ll get the reference this weekend, but for now just take off your shirt.”

Scott laughed and peeled off his navy blue top without protesting. “But nothing else. We may be ditching but we’re still in school.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Stiles said. Scott slumped into a vaguely suggestive pose, which became infinitely more suggestive with a bare chest. “Whatever, Scotty. You look good like that.” Stiles got to work painting and urged Scott not to move too much.

Five minutes in, and Scott was already getting antsy. “Can I at least see it? Even if it’s not done?”

“No. If it were ready I would have told you,” Stiles said. He dipped his brush in red paint again and blended it with white, before he made a few more strokes.

“Why are you using so much pink? I’m definitely not that color.”

Stiles chuckled. “When you’re blushing this much you are. Just be glad I didn’t make the entire thing pink.”

If Scott were right next to him, he would have lightly punched him for that comment. Instead, he got up and darted to where Stiles was working. “Who’s that sexy guy?”

“That would be my muse, Scott McCall. And it just so happens that my muse is a _jackass_ for getting up before I was done.” Stiles was generally a very quick painter, but it was still only about two thirds done.

What Scott did next wasn’t premeditated, and it certainly didn’t seem like an appropriate response to being called a jackass, but it somehow felt like the right thing to do. He bent down to where Stiles was sitting and kissed him. He was shirtless and alone with a boy in a room where he wasn’t supposed to be and it all just fueled into his already uncontrollable urge to kiss his best friend.

Stiles got swept in immediately. He stood up and kissed back, more fervently than Scott could have expected. He tackled Scott to the ground- though when asked about it later he swore he just lost balance- and continued kissing from on top of him. He let his hand weave through Scott’s hair while Scott’s tongue traced his upper lip.

Stiles pulled away for a moment to breath and Scott started laughing. Laughing at how well this worked out, at how the art room was inexplicably the perfect place to make out, and at how long it took for him to get to this point. This was just what they needed but neither of them knew it until now.

Stiles rolled off to Scott’s side and joined in laughing. He couldn’t think of anything to say but it wasn’t in his nature to be silent, so he squeaked out “Hi.”

“Hi Stiles,” Scott said.

The bell rang and they hurried to put the painting and supplies away and get Scott’s shirt back on before they scuffled out to go to class. No way could they get away with ditching two classes in a row, so they silently agreed to continue this later.

*******

Scott woke up the next morning still giddy from the events that transpired in the art room, and the quick kiss they stole later that day in private during lunch.

He ran into Stiles outside of the school and as the two of them headed to the front door together, he stuck out his hand hoping that Stiles would hold it. Stiles talked on as usual about whatever was on his mind that day and pretended not to notice that they were supposed to be holding hands.

Later that same day, Stiles sat by Kira and Lydia during art. “So yesterday, Scott and I kinda made out,” Stiles cut right to the chase.

“When? After school?” Lydia asked.

“This is the biggest news I’ve told you all year and you’re not at all surprised?” Stiles said. “Figures. And no, we ditched first period and came here and that’s when it happened”

“It was kind of obvious, with how you two are joined at the hip, and how he stared at you with those puppy-dog eyes,” Lydia said.

“He looks at everyone like a puppy,” Stiles exclaimed.

“No, he doesn’t,” Kira said. “Wait- you said first period? How come you waited until now to tell us?!”

“I was processing. And come on, Kira, I have the right to some privacy.”

“Processing?” Lydia asked dubiously.

“Yeah, I spent all this time thinking he was straight and that he wasn’t an _option_ and then he kissed me. I always considered Scott to be the perfect friend and now that’s changing and it’s just sort of scary, you know?” he tried not to sound too excited.

Scott had only mentioned once that he might not be fully straight, and Stiles didn’t really take him seriously. He knew enough not to say that out loud though to avoid getting slapped by Lydia. Kira would no doubt back her up.

*******

Two weeks passed. In that time, Scott and Stiles made out a handful- well, lots of hands full- of other times, but nothing really changed beyond that. Stiles was probably just worried over nothing. In those few days he also finally got it through his head that not everyone is always as definitive about their sexuality as he was.

He texted Scott after school. “u heard of the kinsey scale?”

Scott replied a minute later. “yeah why?”

“kira just told me about it. idk it was interesting”

Scott typed back “overrated. i spent so long on those online quizzes and still dont know what number i am” He sent another text moments later. “i just know that i like u as more than a friend. i dont care where I am on the scale”

“can i come over?” Stiles texted. He wanted to talk in person. Texting or even a phone call wouldn’t cut it.

The Jeep rumbled outside Scott’s house, and Scott ran downstairs to get the door. Not a moment after the door swung open, Stiles had his hands cupping Scott’s face for a kiss. Scott sunk into the kiss and felt the smooth skin of Stiles’ hands and cheeks and his face was… wet. Scott pulled away for a moment to look Stiles in the eye.

“Stiles, were you crying?” His eyes were red and puffy. There was really no point in denying that he’d cried the whole drive over, so he chose not to answer the question at all.

“I was thinking about, like, defining your sexuality, and it’s totally cool if you don’t want to do that by the way, when I started trying to define our _relationship_ ,” Stiles said, talking quickly and frantically through reemerging tears. “And I freaked out because now that I’m thinking about this as a real thing I have to think about next year, which is pretty real too.” He took the first big breath since he arrived and then continued, “Scott, we have a problem much bigger than some stupid number on some stupid scale and that’s me going to college across the fucking country.”

Scott looked pained but made sure to keep calm for Stiles’ sake. He hushed him and ushered him over to the couch, closing the door behind them.

“I only just fell in love with you. I can’t give that up now!” Stiles urged once the two of them were sitting on the couch. Stiles had both legs squished up next to him, his shoes flung somewhere across the room. Scott sat right next to him, with his entire body turned to face him.

“Okay first of all, you wouldn’t be giving up anything _now_. It’s barely January and college starts when- end of August? Beginning of September? We’ve got time.” Scott said. “Is this why you were so hesitant about this whole thing? Because you were afraid of it ending?”

Stiles gave him a look. “I don’t know what you’re talking-”

“Oh come on,” Scott continued. “Refusing to hold my hand at school even though you normally have no problem with PDA? Hanging out with me exactly as much as we’ve always hung out- no more, no less?” Scott frowned, “Or is it because you didn’t want things to change?”

Stiles was dumbfounded. As much as he didn’t want to believe it, it was him that was holding up their relationship, and he was pretty sure it wasn’t because of Danny; he’d finally gotten over him almost immediately after kissing Scott. The stalling was entirely his own. Scott had a right to be upset, but even when he was bluntly laying out the facts, it was with warmth. It was comforting.

Stiles was still crying a bit, and his nose was starting to drip.

“Hey, can I get you a-”

Stiles mumbled “No” and wiped his sleeve across his face.

“-tissue?”

“Eight months,” Stiles said, not wanting to pause the conversation for something as trivial as tissues, “January to August is only eight months. How are you okay with that?”

“I spent so long thinking I’d get zero months, and really any time with you is amazing.” Scott went on to explain, bit by bit, that Stiles had never shown any interest in him and Scott had just accepted that for the most part.

“That’s not fair! I thought you were straight. I could have sprung the moves on you any time I wanted.”

“Even after I told you I _wasn’t_ straight?” Scott frowned a little more.

“Not my finest moment,” Stiles admitted.

“But we’re _past_ that. It’s okay. Where we are now- we’re good. We’re great And I want that to last at the very least for now. We can figure out the rest-,” Scott said.

“I don’t want to go to New York,” Stiles cut him off. “What if I just go to Sunnydale instead? It’s in-state tuition and it’d be better for _so_ many reasons.”

Scott looked earnest. “Stiles,” He said, reaching out to touch his arm, “You can’t do that. You can’t give up on your dream for some boy, even if I _am_ the boy.” He chuckled but stopped when he saw that Stiles looked just as sad as he did before.

“You can’t tell me what to do,” Stiles said. It had been hard enough to decide to go to school far away _before_ his new feelings for Scott complicated things. It was hard to think clearly at all now.

That night there was a lot of cuddling, a little more crying, and endless rationalizations for why Stiles should or should not go to the school that he’d been dreaming about for years. He didn’t make a decision that night, but Scott was there to help him along with the process.

By the time Stiles had to make an official choice and enroll, he had made a pact with Scott: Skype calls at least twice a week was just the beginning of it. They also agreed to visit each during every school break possible. Sometimes Scott would fly out to New York, and other times Stiles would travel back to his home state and visit Scott in UC Sunnydale. “UCLA doesn’t deserve you anyway.”

Stiles had hope for their relationship now. In the back of his mind he always did. It was going to be hard to be without Scott around to constantly nag and tease and nag, tease, kiss, and love face-to-face, but they would make it work. Even if they talked every day they’d miss each other sometimes. But it was the fact that they were so close that would make them stronger to keep it going.

 

 


End file.
